One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant alyssum in San Marcos should be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Alyssum

Frost tolerance for alyssum:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

You can plant alyssum a lot earlier in the year because they do well in cold.

The earliest that you can plant alyssum in San Marcos is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant alyssum and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your alyssum may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your alyssum indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in San Marcos. You should expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for San Marcos and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in San Marcos it frosts late in the year after January 31 so always be ready to protect your alyssum in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for San Marcos

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in San Marcos

You may be interested in your other planting guides for San Marcos.